Biscuits & Chocolate Gravy

I usually get the same response every time I mention this breakfast favorite of mine; a wrinkled up nose and "Did you just say chocolate gravy?" Yes, I said CHOCOLATE gravy. And for anyone reading this with a wrinkled up nose, you just don't know what you are missing!
My mom made this as I was growing up. It's not something we had very often. It's one of those cold winter mornings don't wanna get outa bed type of breakfasts. The biscuits are a little sweeter than normal; the gravy is not as sweet as one might think. It's the perfect soul food. For the longest time I thought it was something my mom had concocted during one of her "chocoholic binges", but I asked her once and she told me she learned to make it at a friend’s house. Imagine my surprise when I googled it and found all kinds or recipes and resources. It seems biscuits and chocolate gravy is a "southern thing". No wonder all these crazy California’s look at me like "what the heck" as they sip on their sugar free-nonfat-organic-vanilla-latte's.
Anyway, it doesn't ever get cold here (no, 65 degrees is not cold!), so I just make biscuits and chocolate gravy when the feeling hits me. This morning it hit me. The biscuits weren't as good as moms. She learned how to make them one year by throwing stuff together. That was a year of interesting breakfasts let me tell ya! The gravy was pretty close to hers. All in all it was a good breakfast and I have that wonderful warm feeling in my tummy. :)
If you're feeling brave and wanna give them a try, here's a recipe for them. This isn't the one I use because my moms recipe doesn't come with the measurements. You have to make it up as you go. This one has all the info you need and even adds a twist by using cinnamon. I've never used cinnamon, but I think it could be yummy. Let me know what you think of them if you make them!
Biscuits & Chocolate Gravy Recipe

Happy Birthday Edith

My friend Edith turned 72 today. She is an amazing woman with a zest for life. Her favorite food is cool whip! I'm learning a lot from Edith. She isn't affraid to try new things. Just this year, she is learning how to play piano and we are learning how to juggle together and it's been so much fun. It's hard, but neither of us are giving up.
Edith is an artist and her work is beautiful. I just bought one of her paitings and am so happy with it! I love her bright colors and crazy lines. It's like there is something inside her that is so excited to get out. It really comes across in her paintings!
Here's to you Edith! Happy birthday!

Carina

I know I said I was going to post something more about the concert, but it turns out my thoughts wouldn't collect and I am just really tired of focusing on the negative side of "church".
Instead, I want to tell you about my friend Carina. I met Carina durring summer camp at PineValley, an amzing little camp where I met a lot of beautiful people who changed my life in ways I'll probably never know. Carina was one of those beautiful people. From the second I met her I was captured. She had a bright welcoming smile that made me feel loved and accepted. A warmth radiated from her. I remember once we were holding hands praying and ,I kid you not, I could feel the love oozing out of her. She had a way when she was worshiping. It was like it was just her and God. She would dance around the room lost in worship. It was really beautiful to see. Somewhere in the course of the week we decided to do a sort of play to music. It was all Carina's idea and she brought the whole thing to life. As we were preparing to perform she and I stepped outside to pray. Her prayer was so sincere and honest that it made me cry. I had never met anyone like Carina. She had a passion that I didn't understand and could not explain. Camp ended, but Carina and I kept in touch. I was so excited to receive her letters. I'm sure she had no idea what an impact she had on my life. She had a simple faith that I admired so much. When I visited my dad in the summer I would call her and she would come to Teen Time and we would all sing and worship together.
The last time I saw Carina, most of her hair was gone and her body was thin and frail, but the love that oozed from her was still there and her smile had not faded in the least. She was bateling Hotchkins diseas, but you would never know it from talking to her. She did confide in me that she had her down days. Days when she threw her hands up to God asking "Why me", but for the most part she just accepted it and when on living live with joy and love. I know we hear stories all the time about those who are going through an illness and how they don't take anything for granted. Those stories never ment anything to me until I met Carina. She could have easily been angry and bitter and I wouldn't have blamed her a bit. But that just wasn't her style. She lived joy. She was love. I owe a piece of who I am to her.

Jarchives Group 

Dan & Me 

The Band Get's It

THEY'LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE
words and music by Peter Scholtes

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

Isn't that a great song! It's on "Redemption Songs". Jars sang it at the concert on Saturday which was great!
I got to meet some awsome ladies from www.jarchives.com which is much more than just a Jars of Clay fan site. I also got to meet Matt and Dan from the band. They were in a hury so it wasn't like we chatted for any length of time, but they did let us know how BWM is going. It ended up being a really cool weekend and I'm glad I went. I have some more to type about a different subject concearning the weekend, but I'll have to collect my thoughts first.

Memorizing Verses

When I was younger I worried about not being able to turn to a certain book in the Bible. It was my greatest fear to be called on to read a specific verse and have to turn to the index first. What would people think? I would be exposed as the only believer to not memorize the order of the books. At least, that’s how it went in my mind, and it didn’t stop at the order of the books. I should know it all. I should be able to quote the bible word for word. The more I could quote the better Christian I was. It didn’t matter to me if I really knew what it meant, just as long as I had it memorized like the information for my second period biology exam, only this was much more important. This got me in good with the big man and made me look good in front of the church. Of course, there was much more that was required of the “good Christian” in my mind. I had to praise the right way at the right time, say all the right prayers, and of course nod my head at the right time during the sermon.
I wonder what the younger me would think of me now. I don’t go to church, I don’t know much more of the bible by heart than I did then, and I still have to use the index. Yet somehow I feel closer to God than I ever have. Letting go of all of these things that I thought would bring me closer to God has only shown me more of who God is. He doesn’t so much care if I know the order of the books in the bible as long as I know his heart. He’s not worried if I memorize all the verses of the bible as long as his words are written on my heart. Life isn’t so much about regimen or schedule anymore. There are no Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night meetings. I don’t read the bible every day. I don’t even pray in the conventional sense every day. My life is not a dressed up for Sunday school type of thing. It’s a jumbled up mess of human emotion and wanting verses the call of God that shakes me to the core when I catch a glimpse of it. It’s slipping, sliding, falling, climbing, clawing, may way through it all type of thing. There are days when I feel so crazy in this skin that I want to jump out of it. There are days when I really don’t care much at all about anything at all. There are days when I throw my hands up in the air because I just don’t get it. And then, there are the days when I feel a calling. I feel in tune and in sink with God. I can feel my place and see my purpose. Those days keep me wading through the rest of it. Those days remind me that there is so much more to all of this than memorizing verses.

Blood:Water Mission

This weekend is going to be an awesome weekend. A friend and I are going to see my favorite band, Jars Of Clay, in concert. Jars has been my favorite band for a while. I love their musical style and how it evolves. The message they send out really speaks to me. I believe that these guys have hearts that truly long to serve God. They aren't about converting people to Christianity. They are about loving and serving. Their newest mission is called Blood: Water Mission. This is just a brief exerpt from their mission statement:
This, then, is the Blood:Water Mission, committed to clean blood and clean water to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to build clean wells in Africa, to support medical facilities caring for the sick, to make a lasting impact in the fight against poverty, injustice and oppression in Africa through the linking of needs, talents and continents, of people and resources. We need you and they need you. Please join us on this journey of hope and care.
There's more information if you click the link below.
If you aren't familiar with Jar's music, go check it out at Jars Of Clay.Com. They are awesome and thier newest cd, Redemption Songs, is really great!
Take Care,
Sandra :)

Disconected

Last night as we were driving home, there was an accident on the highway. It was just before an on-ramp to a freeway and cars were just passing the two cars involved as if they couldn't get by fast enough. We stopped to make sure the people involved were okay and that 911 had been called. I couldn't believe the several cars that passed before us hadn't bothered to stop at all. Granted, they could have called 911 from the road. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one. This same situation occured in "The Amazing Race" where Rob and Amber didn't stop when they saw their fellow racers had flipped their hum-v. What is it with us? Are we really so disconected that when we see tragedy right in front of us we don't stop? Where are we racing to so quickly that we can't take a few moments of our time to call for help? Do me a favor, the next time you see someone in need of help just give it. You'll feel better, the'll feel better, and it'll make the world that much better of a place. :)

Fun House Mirrors

Okay, I didn't really lose 90lbs in a day. We visited a local park that has a nifty room of mirrors. There were mirrors that make your legs look log or short, your torso as long as your body, your hips twice as wide, and my most favorite mirror, the super skinny,everyone is a size zero mirror. I wanted to stay there forever and bask in the view of mini me, but reality struck too soon. Only minutes later my wonderful husband snapped a picture of me going down a slide and the skinny dream was over.
So much for losing 90lbs in one day! I put a quote on our newsletter at work this week. It said: " There are no short-cuts to any place worth going." Isn't it true. I guess the only way to really appreciate where you are is to have worked to get there. It's true in almost every aspect of my life. So, here's to taking the road less traveled and making my own way! I'll get there, and when I do it will be worth it!

I lost 90lbs in 1 Day! 

A sunny birthday wish from my friend Aola!  

Poker Night!

Tonight is poker night. I'm so excited! We haven't played in such a long time and I have really missed it. It was nice to have the break though. For a while, we were playing every weekend and we always host so it took a lot out of me. I couldn't just order pizza. I have to make a full meal with desert. Maybe that's why I haven't lost weight!?! Our friends Johnathan and Linda won't be here which makes me sad, but we are going up to see them in a few weeks. That should be awesome!
I haven't done anything all day. I should probably do something, but I'm being lazy today.

Restless

I am restless. Every cell in my body feels like it's going to explode into a milion pieces. I have a gazillion ideas but only beginnings of ideas. No middles or ends.
I want to create someting but I can't focus long enough to get started. I think maybe I need to go run for a minute or two and then I'll be able to focus.
I'm all alone tonight, or at least I will be as soon as my f-i-l picks up the dd. It feels good to be alone sometimes. It's like I can breathe again. I love my family to pieces, but this motherhood thing came on way too early and starting with a 7 year-old is so much different that starting with a baby. We fast-forwarded straight to smartelic replies and arugements. I didn't get any of the cute baby gurgles or bubble smiles. Instead I get "Why can't I shave my legs?" and "It's not fair that you always get to sit in the front seat!". Ahhh motherhood.
Okay, I'm off to run and hopefully release some of this restless energy so I can create something.